Red Sox come away impressed with Luis Severino's debut

Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees reacts after getting David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox to ground out to end the first inning at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac

"Severino's got electric-type stuff," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "There's no question we'll see Severino a lot in years to come and that's a good looking young pitcher."

"That young kid, he's got good stuff," said David Ortiz, who went 1-for-4 with a home run off Severino in the fourth inning. "He's gonna be pretty good. He's got a good fastball, a cutter, a changeup. I think at the beginning of the game, his location was off a little bit. But other than that, his stuff was good."

Boston came into the game ranked 11th in the majors in runs per game (4.2), and had a team slash line of .257/.319/.394.

Severino retired the first five batters he faced and allowed his first baserunner when Mike Napoli reached on Chase Headley's throwing error. Alejandro De Aza followed with a double, putting Boston on the board.

The 21-year-old rookie responded by striking out the next three batters and retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced. Ortiz's home run was his only blemish during this stretch, as the veteran designated hitter launched a bomb to rightfield that traveled 435 feet.

Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart, who also went 0-for-2 with a strikeout against Severino, said he would not have known he was facing a rookie based on his stuff.

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"He went out there composed and did a good job," Swihart said. "[He was] able to throw all of his pitches in any count."

Severino became the 13th Yankee pitcher since 1914 to make his big-league debut against the Red Sox, and the first since Randy Keisler in 2000. Severino had the most strikeouts of this group, surpassing Sam Militello's mark of five in 1992.

For any Yankees starter in his big-league debut (regardless of opponent), only five pitchers had more strikeouts than Severino Hideki Irabu had the most, fanning nine in 1997, and four Yankees who made their first appearance are tied with eight).

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